Thank the Borgias

Linda Hall

SPAIN has had three or four popes, depending on whether or not you include the antipope Benedict XIII or Papa Luna (1328­1423), born in Peñiscola (Castellon).

Little attention is paid to Damasus I, born around 304AD, whose Spanish parents might or might not have lived in Spain. That leaves the Borgias, Callixtus III (1378­1458) and Alexander VI (1431 ­ 1503) whose family name was Borja.

They were two Valencian boys done good who didn’t have a good press then and whose mention today still brings to mind corruption, ill ­ gained wealth, poison and incest. Both were born in Xativa and met hostility and distrust in Rome, prompting grumbles that more Valenciano was heard in the Vatican corridors than Latin or Italian.

Ultimately, though, the Italians owe a huge culinary debt to the Borjas because they took with them the coca which Valencianos will tell you evolved into Italian pizza.

Admitted, the cocas you see in bakeries or those that emerge from a home cook’s oven have little in common with the cheese ­ heavy, sauceladen pizzas we have come to expect outside Italy.

Traditional cocas are more austere and the base ­ which at its best is light and airy but substantial ­ will be dotted with sparing amounts of sausage, chorizo, a sardine or an anchovy if you’re lucky, plus modest additions of red and green peppers.

To someone who has never tried one, a word of warning: you will either like or hate it. Naturally, this depends on the part of Spain where you are eating and buying coca, but newly ­ rich Mediterranean areas haven’t yet forgotten frugality.

Interestingly, Valencianos who emigrated to work in Algeria in the 19th and early 20th centuries took their cocas with them. Possibly it was not entirely a coincidence that the first time I ate pizza was in Benidorm in 1972 in a newly ­ opened Italian restaurant that was owned and run by an Algerian couple.

I think the Borgias would approve of that.

David Worboys Thinking Aloud

YOU can do it! How many examples have we seen of personal victory over adversity achieved through pure determination and courage? Throughout history, in many different fields, success has been attained against all the odds.

It’s no different in the world of music. Two of the greatest examples are from the unlikely pairing of Beethoven and Sutherland. Each had to overcome huge obstacles to produce the pinnacle of their art.

Beethoven’s triumph over tragedy and his journey from adversity to eternal glorification is one of the most inspiring in history. As a child he was bullied by his drunken father who was his first musical tutor and who beat him and locked him in the cellar whenever he made a mistake. From early childhood he suffered intestinal problems and was dyslexic ­ unable to read or write properly. His beloved mother died a lingering death when he was young. At 24 he developed a lung infection and then started hearing a buzzing noise in his ears. At 34 he had a fever for several months, abscesses in his jaw and finger and a septic foot.

For the rest of his life, his hearing suffered a gradual deterioration until he became